Lessons From Ryu, The Greatest Street Fighter Warrior.

The decision to produce this article resulted from my own observations on what has already been written on Ryu. There are dozens of articles available on the web regarding this iconic character's profile and fighting skills. If you type "What is the fighting philosophy of Ryu?" on ChatGPT, you will come across the following sentence: "He seeks to constantly improve himself not only in terms of his fighting abilities but also in his personal growth and understanding of the world." This sentence alone is enough to explain why Ryu is so revered among many martial artists especially those who grew up playing the Street Fighter video game series.

Yes, Ryu is a fictional character and yes, he will never replace real martial artists, both past and present, such as Bruce Lee and Iko Uwais. And yet, his profound character is very apparent especially in the 1994 animated movie Street Fighter 2. The latter is widely considered to be the best animated movie ever produced for the video game franchise and it is this movie which acts as the primary reference for the present article. Perhaps Ryu's lasting influence is due to the fact that he is based on a legendary martial artist: Masutatsu Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin Karate. Oyama's philosophy of discipline and hard training are certainly well represented through Ryu.

And so, what can Ryu teach us? What can the lead character of what is arguably the most influential fighting game of all time bring in terms of wisdom? We already know what drives him: The pursuit of self-perfection and the balance between power and restraint. The suggestions below are an attempt to broaden the understanding of Ryu's influence.

1. Being the best is not always the best position to be in.

Among all the martial artists in the Street Fighter universe, Ryu is unquestionably the one who is the most determined to achieve absolute mastery as a practitioner of a Shotokan-style Karate rooted in assassination arts. Not only does he have the unbreakable discipline to achieve this but his potential as a fighter is unmatched. This becomes obvious after he defeats Sagat, the Muay Thai champion who is the most feared martial artist in the world until his confrontation with Ryu. The scar across Sagat's chest following Ryu's counterattack at a crucial moment of the fight becomes symbolic of a change in the Street Fighter hierarchy with Ryu taking the top spot.

Despite this extraordinary achievement, this victory is the start of a host of troubles for Ryu. His new status as the new most powerful martial artist gets him all kinds of unwanted attention that have nothing to do with his quest to surpass himself. For one, Bison, the main antagonist of the series wants to use him as a living weapon and goes to great lengths to capture him. Then, there are the needless confrontations from fighters who want to test themselves against Ryu. In both cases, Ryu is dragged into situations that he wants nothing to do with and which do a lot more harm than good. Key Lesson: There is no ideal situation and being the best at something is not one. It simply comes with benefits and drawbacks. The drawbacks tend to reveal themselves once the position has been achieved.

2. The strength of one's purpose is bigger than anything the modern world has to offer.

Ryu's determination and tenacity in the field of martial arts are so strong that they effectively crush the weaknesses typically prevalent in modern society: laziness, addictions, obsessions with self-image, lack of foresight...He is on his journey and does not allow short-term considerations to interfere with his progression. Ryu has an extremely clear understanding of what he wants to achieve and what it takes to get there. He shuns consumerism and opts for a simple nomadic lifestyle which clashes with the big city mentality but which enables him to exercise his principles in the best way that he sees fit. This is exemplified when he tries to find the answer to the question his master once asked him: "Ryu, what do you see in front of your fist?"

Ryu knows that this answer can only come after he goes through the most difficult battles against his adversaries and, more importantly, against himself. The journey itself is a never-ending one since perfection can never be achieved, but Ken Masters, his best friend and rival, gave him a taste of things to come: "We won't be training forever you know. The time will come when our lives will depend on this." Key Lesson: When it comes to hard, long-term objectives, the most difficult thing can be to differentiate between what matters and what does not, what will last and what is only temporary.

3. If an adversary is determined to fight to the end, then fighting to the end might be the only option.

In the animated movie Street Fighter 2, Ryu is forced to fight Fei Long, a very strong but also very arrogant martial artist. Ryu gains the upper hand but Fei Long's pride is too big for him to give up. When he sees Ryu drop his guard, Fei Long makes it clear that he will regret it if he walks away from the ring. And so Ryu does not try to reason with Fei Long. It would be totally useless. Fei Long launches a special move which knocks down Ryu but is not enough to finish him. Ryu gets back up and throws a Hurricane Kick in Fei Long's face. This is too much to take and Fei Long ends up unconscious. Key Lesson: When there is no room to compromise and no room to escape, getting one's mind right for a difficult confrontation can be the only way out.

Conclusion: There can be no doubt that the Street Fighter franchise will remain popular for many years to come and Ryu will hard to displace as its icon. As with my previous articles, this one was based on observations at one specific point in time. I might learn other things from Ryu ten years from now.

Good luck,

Ashley Boolell

Check out my latest novel here: Market Dystopia.